A steady snow and temperatures hovering around the freezing mark made for slippery driving conditions in the area Saturday.

Worcester instituted a winter parking ban as of 2 p.m. The parking ban forbids parking on either side of main streets, bus routes and streets in the downtown area. Parking is allowed only on the odd-numbered side of all other streets unless otherwise posted.

Police in Worcester and several area towns reported a spate of skidding accidents Saturday, some involving personal injuries. A car reportedly hit a house at 1 Rice Lane, Worcester, shortly after 11:30 a.m. No one was injured in that crash, according to police broadcasts. A five-vehicle pileup was reported shortly after noon on Granite Street.

Police also responded to reported accidents on Lincoln, Dorchester and Belmont streets and were calling for sanders in various areas throughout the city.

There were later reports of cruisers, at least one ambulance and a firetruck stuck on untreated roads.

Several fender-benders were also reported by police in Westboro, Marlboro and Hopkinton.

Alan Dunham, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton, said a winter weather advisory was in effect in northern Worcester County.

Southern Worcester County and the Greater Worcester area were likely to get 4 to 6 inches of snow, by the time it ended around midnight, according to the weather service. Temperatures were expected to drop into the lower 20s, with a northwest wind of 5 to 10 mph.

The weather service was also predicting a 40 percent chance of snow showers today, with temperatures in the low to mid-30s, followed by an arctic blast hitting the region midweek.

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